Myers-Briggs Type Indicator | MBTI

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What is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? Meaning.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a personality type model which measures psychological preferences of people concerning how they perceive the world and make decisions. The MBTI assessment was derived from psychologist Carl Jung's theory of psychological types (1920s). It was developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers during World War II.

In an MBTI test, certain preferred psychological preferences of managers / employees / students / people are placed on 4 dichotomies:

1. E / I dichotomy of MBTI

   • Measures a psychological attitude: is a person's favorite world (source of ENERGY) INTERNAL or EXTERNAL?
   • E - Extraverts try things out (action oriented). They trust, focus on, and get energy from the outer world of people, seek breadth of knowledge and influence, prefer frequent interaction.
   • I - Introverts think things through (thought oriented). They trust, focus on and get energy from the inner world of ideas, seek depth of knowledge and influence, prefer substantial interaction.

2. S / N dichotomy of MBTI

   • Measures a psychological function: does a person have a preference for INFORMATION or for PERCEIVING?
   • S - Sensors are practical, detail-oriented. They trust and focus on tangible, concrete, measurable facts and procedures.
   • N - Intuitors are imaginative, concept-oriented. They trust and focus on intangible, abstract, theoretical, unconscious insights, meanings and possibilities.

3. T / F dichotomy of MBTI

   • Measures a psychological function: what is a person's preference for DECISION-MAKING (JUDGING)?
   • T - Thinkers decide from a detached, skeptical standpoint. They prefer to make decisions based on reason, logic, causality, consistency and rules.
   • F - Feelers are appreciative, associating or empathizing. They tend to make decisions based on personal, humanistic considerations, inner balance, harmony, consensus.

4. J / P dichotomy of MBTI

   • Measures the psychological LIFESTYLE preference people have for either their perceiving function (2. S/N - sensing or intuition) or for their judging function (3. T /F - thinking or feeling) when they are relating to the outside world (extraversion).
   • J - Judgers have preference to show their preferred (dominant) judging function (thinking or feeling).
   • P - Perceivers have a preference to show their preferred (dominant) perceiving function (sensing or intuition).

The MBTI type preferences can be combined to form 16 different personality types and personal development preferences. For example, one manager may be an ISTJ (Intravert, Sensor, Thinker, Perceiver) and another may be an ENFJ (Extravert, iNtuitor, Feeler, Judger). These MBTI combinations can be used as a basis for personal development, team development, and coaching. The MBTI is not a test, but a self-evaluation instrument. The instrument does not predict future behavior of people and does not measure skills. For this reason, the MBTI should not be used for behavior prediction, recruitment and selection.

In academic circles the opinion of MBTI is low and the model is often dismissed as commercial or pseudo-psychology. The MBTI can be seen as an example of Trait Leadership Theory.

Forum Forum about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Below you can ask a question about this topic, share your experiences, report a new development, or explain something. Start a new topic about Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Share your knowledge here (or ask a question)   🔥 NEW The Big Five Personality Traits (OCEAN Model) and Success In psychological trait theory, the Big Five Personality Traits, also known as the Five-Factor Model (FFM) or the OCEAN model or the CANOE model, is a suggested model, taxonomy, or grouping for person... 9   3 comments Quotes on Personality Tests Let's start collecting remarkable quotes here on MBTI and personality tests in general. The below excerpts are taken from a recent short Forbes Magazine article by Paul King, which was posted 201... 7   MBTI Does Not Measure Traits or Behaviors The following excerpts are from the "Guide to the Development and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator" by Isabel Briggs Myers and Mary H. Mccaulley: The aim of MBTI is to identify the basic pr... 7   Why Understanding Personality Types is Second to None Having recently participated in some personality type exercises it has become glaringly obvious to me how much this shapes every interaction we have in the workplace. Every interaction you have w... 2

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